


After the Valley

by Sisila_galad



Category: Produce 101 (TV), Wanna One (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Magic, Alternate Universe - Werewolf, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Slow Burn, Swearing
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-10
Updated: 2017-10-29
Packaged: 2018-12-25 21:18:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 18,382
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12044472
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sisila_galad/pseuds/Sisila_galad
Summary: The wolves live in the valley in relative peace, the sky is blue, the grass is green, and there is enough food to feed everyone. No one knows what lies outside their haven, yet rumors abound that it is a frozen wasteland, and that the valley is the only habitable place left. When wolves start falling ill from a mysterious disease, there is only one boy who might be able to save them, but first he must leave the valley.also known as Hyungseob is a werewolf who just wants everything to start going well again, and Euiwoong is a human who swears this is all bad for his heart





	1. The Valley

**Author's Note:**

> this is my second story, and my first chaptered one so excuse any awkwardness. I plan to update once a week, but i'm currently in school so it's not an exact science. I know where I'm going with this though, and already have a few chapters written so hopefully I can keep up. even if I don't, i'm not gonna abandon this, so without further adieu, lets go!

Located in a valley between two mountains, situated in the bend of a river, was a clan of werewolves. Their territory was a respite, outside of the valley there was nothing but snow and death. Inside the valley though, there was lush grass, and green forest. Two boys were born to the leaders of this pack. One boy full of fire and will, even at a young age he was set to become one of the strongest werewolves in history. Woojin was a great leader, and even better at combat, joining his father on hunts years before most young pups were even weaned. The other son however was made of softer stuff, air and hope. Hyungseob was often found by creek beds staring at the slowly moving water, as sun beams seemed to drift past holding the hours that he lost to his mind. When questioned he would often tell tales about the people that lived in huge underwater colonies, who would swim to the top and sing to him. He was his father’s greatest shame, and his mother tended to hide him away from the rest of the pack, lest word get out that such a weak son was begotten by such strong parents. 

The only person that seemed to understand Hyungseob was the oldest woman of their clan. Rumor had it that she was old even before even the mountains were created, and the rivers flowed. She was a woman of few words, but to Hyungseob she was a key to a world that no one but them could see. She filled his head with stories of great quests, filled with witches, magical forests, and danger at every turn. They would meet at the river bank, and for hours she would impress upon him her tales. 

Hyungseob once asked her how she knew so many stories, and she told him the oldest tale she knew. Werewolves had not always been nomads, running from place to place in search of new territory, and more often than not at war with other clans. They were in harmony with every other being on earth, and had lived in the south where the air was warm and the food was plentiful. She had been young then, and so had the world been young as well. Magic too was young, and it lived on top of a great mountain. The magic protected Ameron, and blessed it. As long as the magic looked over the world there was no war, no hunger, and no fear. However, this paradise was not to last. Her father was a opportunistic man, and decided that the wolves deserved more of the world than the other species. He and his men conspired to steal the magic from the grand shrine that blessed all of Ameron. They climbed the top of the great mountain Dolomero, and burned the shrine to the ground. They searched the charred rubble, but found nothing. The humans had heard of the wolves plan to take over Ameron and had hidden the magic where it would be safe from them. They cursed her father and his men to never truly be human or wolf, and cast them off of the mountain. They banished the new werewolves to the north, where food was scarce, and the terrane treacherous. That was how their clan, and all other clans were created. Because the humans realized that the great magic would never truly be safe they cast it deep into the ground, and the great mountain Dolomero fell. 

For years people remembered what once had been, but slowly knowledge was lost. The thing about magic is is that it will only exist for as long as people know about it, and as people forgot, the magic too got weaker. That is why the old woman existed, to tell the clans about their history, but people started to not want to remember. They mocked her and her stories, which is why she told them to Hyungseob, because he was the only one who wanted to remember.

Hyungseob took this the story to heart, and tried to tell everyone about the lost magic, but no one would listen. When his father learned that the old woman had poisoned his mind with her madness he banished her to the plains where she would surely die. That was the last day Hyungseob told her stories, because he quickly found out that if he didn’t, his father wouldn’t hesitate to banish him too. 

However much his parents scorned their son, that could not deter Woojin from loving his brother. Though he could never see the people in the water, or the kingdoms in the sky that his brother saw, that didn’t stop him from trying. He would join Hyungseob for hours, desperately trying to join the world that his brother lived in, but was always eluded. At times he imagined that if he just squinted his eyes a little bit harder, or believed a little bit more that suddenly the sky would burst open with color and he could finally see the world as his brother did, and at times he felt he was just on the precipice of a huge dark hole, teetering on the edge of both points of view. He imagined that he could see his brother at the bottom, a shining light in the darkness, but then he would look back and see his parents, and just before he would take the leap to join Hyungseob, he would hesitate and pull away. 

Though the two were night and day Woojin always protected his brother when the outside world wanted to tear Hyungseob down. People weren’t always kind to the boy, when Hyungseob was let out from his mother’s shadow the other members of the clan treated him like an anomaly, chasing him around the camp, and jeering at him. Woojin fought them all, always outside of his brother’s eye, but those who tormented Hyungseob soon were decorated with various scars and marks. Woojin vowed that even if he had to kill every single person who harrassed his brother, he would. 

The two grew up though, as all children did, and slowly people started to forget about Hyungseob. Rumors abounded that the pack leader had had drowned him, or his mother had left him in a field. Stories were created that others had seen his spirit gliding over the river, or that if you listened closely on summer nights you would see Hyungseob running across the plains, whooping and howling like a man on fire. This wasn’t true though, Hyungseob was alive, and although he no longer lived fully in his imagination, the damage to his reputation was already done. On the eve of their 16th birthday, when most other young wolves would be preparing for their presentation, the night where they took their wolf form for the first time, Hyungseob was locked away. Woojin was furious, his brother should’ve have been cherished just like he was during their childhood, and now they were even denying Hyungseob one of the most important days in a werewolf’s life. His mother had promised Woojin that they would have a private ceremony for Hyungseob, but Woojin knew how much weight to give that. For the last few years it had only been him and Hyungseob at his birthday party. They were born on the same day, but Hyungseob wasn't even allowed to participate in Woojin’s party. It made Woojin’s blood boil, Hyungseob had every right to be be with everyone else, but instead he had to watch from his mother’s tent. 

The night of their 16th birthday was the first time that Woojin truly hated Hyungseob. Woojin of course transformed into a powerful and intimidating wolf, bigger even than his father. Meanwhile Hyungseob transformed into a wolf smaller than even the weakest wolf in their clan. He had been hoping that somehow Hyungseob would become strong and powerful, and then finally be loved by their parents and village, but of course he couldn’t. Of course Woojin would always have to take care of Hyungseob, of course Hyungseob would never make their parents proud, of course Hyungseob would have to stay in the shadows, because he could never find it in himself to take even the slightest bit of interest in the things that other children like them did. What Woojin had found charming and mystical as a child became shame, shame when Hyungseob couldn’t, or wouldn’t even try things that would make him normal, shame when he caught his brother with his head in the clouds, and shame when their parents looked at them with disappointment. 

So Woojin hated Hyungseob, scorned him, and wished that the kids back then had chased his brother into a river and drowned him. Woojin wished he had been right behind them, whooping and calling, and chasing Hyungseob till he could never find his way back, and then maybe everything would really be alright. Woojin’s parent’s wouldn’t have to deal with the shame of a weak son, and neither would he. 

Of course though, his hatred couldn’t last, because no matter how much he wished he could live without his brother, he couldn’t. They were complete opposites, but they completed each other. And so more years passed, and Woojin once again had to protect his brother at every turn. Hyungseob for his part seemed to grow into his role a bit more, he was no longer drawn to the river, and didn’t spend hours looking up at the sky. He would never be as great a warrior as his brother, but he at least tried. The damage to his reputation had been done though, and Woojin knew that Hyungseob would never be accepted.

A few days after their nineteenth birthday a few of Woojin’s friends fell ill. They had high fevers, and the chills. Slowly rashes began to spread across their body, and only a few days after they got sick they fell into a deep sleep. More and more people began to fall ill. Their parents were panicking, they didn’t have nearly enough resources to deal with a plague, but they refused to let anyone leave and try to find out why people were getting sick. Some people thought that their water had been poisoned, or that the grain that they cooked with had fungus. Others thought that the prey that they hunted was sick, or that the wood they burned caused the illness. Hyungseob was silent, he knew the real cause of the disease, but no one would believe him. Woojin thought that Hyungseob might be hiding something, but he knew not to pry, Hyungseob always told him in the end.

Months passed and more and more people got sick, but still the leaders sent no one to try to find out what the true problem was. They were afraid of the outside world, none of them had ever left, and those that had had returned with stories of horrible cold, and monsters that not even the greatest of them could defeat. The clan waited, holding their breath in their valley that seemed less and less like a refuge as the days went on. That was until the day that Woojin got sick.

It started with a cough. Hyungseob and Woojin were walking back to their tent after fishing when Woojin coughed. Hyungseob looked over at his brother with dread, but Woojin assured him that he was fine. Hyungseob knew though, there was something about his brother that had changed, his hair was slightly duller than it had been a few days earlier. His face too was slightly more sallow. Most people probably wouldn’t even notice the difference with Woojin, but Hyungseob knew, his brother was sick. 

The rest happened in quick succession and that night Woojin was already bedridden, with a high fever. He was barely awake, only slightly lucid when his parents came into his tent with his condition worsening by the minute. Their parents ordered Hyungseob to stay with Woojin, and alert them at the first sign of his condition worsening. Hyungseob stood vigil over his brother, watching him take ragged breaths as his skin flushed with what would soon become horrible rashes. So far no one had died from the disease but no one who had fallen asleep had woken up either. 

Suddenly Woojin grabbed Hyungseob’s ankle and began to try to speak. “Hyun… what…” Hyungseob was down and cradling his brother’s head in a second. A wave of lucidity seemed to pass over his brother and for the first time in hours his eyes seemed to focus. “Seob,” Woojin managed, “Tell me what you’ve been hiding.” Hyungseob tried to sputter out a response but was stopped by Woojin’s harsh glare, “I know you know something,” Woojin’s voice was gravelly and forced, “Whatever it is, if it could help us I need to know, whatever sent me back only gave me so much time.” Hyungseob flushed, “I know you think I won’t believe you but I always did, so please Hyungseob.” 

Hyungseob paused, but the decision was easy. “When I was a kid, before the old woman was exiled she told me about this old magic that was the source of all life. It had to be forced down into the earth to protect it from us, because we tried to abuse it. Because people forgot about it, the magic is dying and everything that feeds off it is dying too.” He looked down at his brother who seemed to finally understand him for the first time in their life, “Until the magic is brought back to power things will continue to get worse.”

Woojin’s eye’s narrowed, “You know how to fix this, don’t you?” Hyungseob looked away, “Please Seob, no more secrets.”

Hyungseob sighed, “Yeah, I know how to fix it.” He paused for a bit, unsure of how he wanted to start, “There’s a world beyond the cold, one filled with different creatures and other wonders. Somewhere out there there’s a way to free the old magic. As for how, I don’t know, but she told me that others might. All I have to do is make it out there.” 

Woojin searched his brother’s face, “So what are you still doing here, Seob? Go out there and fix this.”

“B-but what about you?! Besides the fact that mom and dad wouldn’t even let me leave this tent, let alone leave the valley. Even if I did, what about the cold? Not even our best men survive that, there’s no way I would!” 

Woojin’s face softened, “Seob, there’s no one else but you who could do this, you look at the world in a totally different way, see things that others can’t. The only one who I would trust to do this is you. Besides if it wasn’t meant to be you I’d probably still be unconscious and dying. Face it Seob, you’re meant to do this. Now hurry up, your stuff is still all packed, right? From our last camping trip? Get it and go,” Hyungseob began to protest, but Woojin was having none of it, “If you don’t leave right now I’m laying back down and actually dying.” That was enough to get Hyungseob up, he got his stuff and gave one last look at his brother, still so gray and weak on his mat. Hyungseob ran and gave his brother one last hug before bolting out of their tent, on the way to adventure. Inside the tent Woojin’s eyes began to cloud once more and he laid his head back down. Before he could fall asleep for one last time he smiled, his brother was going to save the world.


	2. The Departure

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey!! It's me again!! I'm not sure how in love with this chapter I am, but hopefully you guys like it. There is kinda vague violence in here, but it describes a kinda graphic thing so if that's not your thing i'm sorry. If you wanna skip over that part you can, it's not super important to the plot. There's also kinda a breakdown here too, but again it's kinda vague. I hope you enjoy!! :-DD

Hyungseob was panicking. Never in his life had he disobeyed his parent’s direct orders like this. The night seemed oppressive, the moon, stars, and even the ground itself seemed to chant  _ “Traitor! Traitor! Traitor!”   _ Hyungseob hid in the shadows, far away from the comforting lights of the other tents. He imagined his parents, sick with worry over their favorite son, visiting their tent only to find their other son had abandoned his brother in his time of need. He imagined that they would curse him, of course he couldn’t be trusted, he cared nothing for any of them. Hyungseob supposed all this was true, he had never truly been one of them, it was only obvious that he would betray them some time or another. 

 

The air was thick with anxiety as he ran, nearer and nearer to the mountains. He thought back to his brother, the way he had looked so frail. What if he had just imagined Woojin waking up? What if he had just abandoned his brother because of just another one of his day dreams. He thought back to when he was a child, and the people in the river. Obviously they weren’t real, no one could live under water, though it had certainly seemed that way at the time. What if this was just another one of his episodes? 

 

This was enough to make him pause as he looked back to the camp. Hyungseob could almost make out his tent, knowing that if he went back now he would probably only be punished for a week or so. His gaze hardened, even if leaving the valley did nothing, even if he died trying, he at least had to make an attempt to find a cure. Maybe the old lady had been lying, maybe none of her stories were real, but he wouldn't know until he came to the mountain and got to the outside world. With this in mind he wrapped his cloak tighter around him, secured his bag on his shoulder and took off again, into the darkness.

 

After what seemed like hours of running he got closer to the mountain. The air was colder here, and the grass whipped across his face as he ran. Hyungseob's entire body ached, but he knew that if he stopped now he’d never start again. Finally he reached the mountainside. The steep cliffs offered no easy way up, and Hyungseob thought for a moment that he would have to backtrack all the way to the river and try again.  _ But if someone got in there has to be a way out again. _

 

There was hardly any light, even the stars seemed fainter near the mountain, so Hyungseob felt his way through the dark for an opening or passage through the nearly impenetrable wall of stone. Finally after hours of stumbling through the dark he came upon a tunnel through the lower side of the mountain that had been hidden by a boulder. Hyungseob took one last look at his village that seemed oh so small in the distance. The sky was beginning to turn gray, and he could just barely make out the curves of the river where he had spent his childhood, squinting further he imagined he saw the water people raising their heads just high enough to be able to shout  _ “Go! Go! Go! We know only you can do this! Go!”  _ Hyungseob decided to heed their imaginary words and ran through the tunnel. 

 

It was longer than Hyungseob had thought looking in, at first the tunnel had only been big enough for him to be able to duck his head through but as he continued the roof seemed to stretch for miles above him. There was no light and Hyungseob couldn't make out the end of it. He imagined that he was in a huge cavern now, with perilous sharp drops on both sides of the path, plummeting down to icy black water where giant snakes watched him run past with amusement.  _ “Run! Run! Run! Little boy! You’ll never make it out, for there is no exit! Join us now and perhaps we won't eat you when we grow hungry!” _

 

Hyungseob kept on, his body ached and protested, his feet slapped hard against the stone of the tunnel. For a long time the only sound he heard was his own heavy footsteps reverberating off the walls of the cavern. In his head he began to chant  _ “Keep going! Keep going! Keep going!”  _ to the beat of his own ragged breathing. He wondered if he had been discovered yet. Surely people were waking up now, his parents included. Imagine their surprise when they walk into his tent to find his brother dying and no one by his side. Hyungseob choked out an anxious laugh, this was a fool’s errand, soon enough he was probably going to run into the end of the cave and have to turn back. He could maybe survive in the forest for a while but people would find him, and no doubt he would be brought back to the camp and killed. This wasn't like his usual disobedience, this was flat out treason. Without Woojin there to protect him he’d probably be publicly hung.

 

Hyungseob stopped running for a second, and thought about Woojin waking up from the illness only to see Hyungseob's skeleton hanging in the middle of the camp. He’d probably be relieved, he wouldn't have to worry about Hyungseob anymore. By this point Hyungseob was verging on hysterical, tears were pricking at the corners of his eyes. He clutched his sides in an attempt to hold himself together, he was either going to die in this cave or be killed by his clan all because he stupidly thought he could be a hero. How stupid was he?! Maybe if he turned back right now he could make it back to his tent before his parents realized, but that would be impossible, people would see him and word would get out, either way he was going to be killed.  _ I’m going to die! I'm really gonna die!  _

 

Hyungseob thought back to his last 24 hours. Had it really been such a short time ago that his brother had been healthy? It seemed like it had been weeks. Or maybe it had been, maybe Hyungseob had been in this cave for years, if he ran back to the mouth of the cavern he might turn into an old withered man, only to find out everyone he loved was dead. Hyungseob's breath hitched, when was the last time he had seen the light? Suddenly Hyungseob wanted nothing more than to daydream by the river in the afternoon like he had when he was a kid. He started breathing harder even though he had been stopped for a while. All he wanted to do was to see his brother again, even his parents, he would throw himself into their arms and tell him that he loved them. 

 

Suddenly a wave of calm drifted over him, like he was still in his tent with his brother, except for this time Woojin was fine, and laughing with him like he always was. Wind cut through the stagnant air like a sign from the air itself telling him he was being ridiculous, and Hyungseob steeled himself. He was going to get out of this cave one way or another and it surely wasn't going to be the way he came in. Bracing his feet on either side of him, he took off, knowing his brother was still at his side. 

 

He only ran for a little longer before he realized he could see his hands pumping on either side of him, and his feet were no longer just sounds. The tunnel was reaching an end. Spurred on by this realization Hyungseob picked up his pace. Soon he could see his breath making clouds in front of him, and slowly the mouth of the cave came into view. Hyungseob looked around, the walls of the tunnel were still only a few inches away from him, and he still had to duck so that his head wouldn't hit the ceiling. He decided not to question it and pressed on.

 

Finally he reached the end. He stood at the very mouth of the cave and looked around. The sun was rising over trees that Hyungseob had never seen and everything was covered in a thick white blanket. “Snow,” Hyungseob breathed out, mesmerized by the way the sunlight glinted off the soft peaks and dunes. Why had anyone been afraid of this? 

 

Hyungseob ran out, and immediately came to three conclusions: one, snow was soft. Two, snow was cold. Three, running through soft cold snow was unpleasant. He started up again, though this time at a much slower, more careful pace. He looked around, amazed. Never in his life had he seen such a wonder land, the air was completely still, it seemed as though time had stopped for this area. Hyungseob smiled, whatever it was that everyone was so afraid of obviously wasn't out today. He continued at a brisk pace through the trees, humming softly.

 

He had been traveling for about an hour, and was taking a rest in a clearing when he heard something. At first he couldn't place it, but when it came again Hyungseob immediately knew, and he felt his blood freeze. That was the sound of a growling wolf.

 

He immediately jumped up from the rock he had been laying on. This growl wasn’t familiar or warm like the one’s he usually heard, this was dangerous and cold, not a warning, a threat. He paused and looked around for anything that could be hiding in the foliage, waiting for him to be vulnerable to pounce on him. In between two trees he finally spotted two glowing red eyes. Hyungseob backed up and the eyes walked forward, eventually the entire wolf came into view in the clearing. It was huge, bigger even than Woojin was, and powerfully built, deadly in every sense of the word. Muscle rippled under taunt skin, sharp teeth were visible, waiting for something to gnaw at. It was hungry, and he was an easy meal. Hyungseob tried to look for a way out but he was trapped, any way he went would be easily followed. 

 

He considered his options, either stay where he was and die or shift and at least give a semblance of a fight. The decision was made easier for him when the large beast stalked forward and out from the trees two other large wolves followed the leader. These were not any ordinary wolves, and any relation to those in the valley was long forgotten, these wolves had lost their minds years ago if they ever had them. 

 

Hyungseob hated shifting, he was never good at it and it never seemed to increase his chances of winning any fight, but he wasn’t hoping to win this fight, he was hoping to outrun it, and if there was anything his wolf form was good at it was running. He sucked in a chestful of air and felt his body begin to change. The process of shifting was never easy for Hyungseob, he had to focus very hard on each part of his body changing or else he might be left looking like a half wolf half human monstrosity, which wouldn’t help him at all. This was an arduous process in the best of times, not to mention when he was probably seconds away from being eaten alive by wolves. 

 

Finally, after hours it seemed, he was in his wolf form. It was always slightly disorienting the first few minutes after changing, but Hyungseob doubted he had even a few seconds, let alone minutes before they charged at him, so he picked a direction that his blurry eyes told him probably didn’t have a rabid wolf in, and ran. If there was one thing Hyungseob was, that was fast. His lithe form easily weaved through the trees, but he was too late. The pack may have been eluded for a few seconds, but they were quickly gaining on his tail.

 

Even with his enhanced speed, he was no match for these wolves, so Hyungseob decided to change tactics. He saw a large rock jutting out from the ground and used it as leverage to jump into one of the large trees. He stumbled though, and was only able to catch the lowest branch. The wolves circled the tree, jumping up and nearly nipping at his paws. The next branch was too high up for him to get to, and if he jumped down they would surely be on him in a second. Hyungseob looked around for a way out, but there was none. The wolves seemed to realize this too, because they laid down around the tree, knowing that soon Hyungseob would have to come out. 

 

Hyungseob looked up into the tree, maybe if he shifted back he could jump and reach the next highest branch. That meant though that if he failed he would surely be eaten by the wolves.  _ Well I’ve evaded death so far, dying here wouldn’t be too shameful.  _ With that he shifted back into his human form and jumped. Hyungseob miscalculated the distance though, and his fingertips barely scratched the bottom of the limb. He landed back on the first branch with a  _ Crack!  _ As the wood splintered and fell away beneath him. Hyungseob had the presence of mind to begin to shift before he hit the ground, but immediately the wolves were ready for him. He could barely see, and his sense of smell told him nothing about what was happening, so as soon as his paws touched the ground he took off, not really knowing where he was going. 

 

He barely evaded halfway formed trees and boulders, everything was too bright and too dark at the same time. The wolves were ominous forms in his peripheral, gaining too quickly, too quickly. Everything seemed like it was going in slow motion, his body was too heavy, his breathing laboured. Hyungseob had never been someone who could shift and go, it took him a long time before either form felt completely natural. Never in his life had he had to shift so many times in such a short period, and he could feel it. He was sluggish and barely had control over almost all his senses. He couldn’t even see the wolf who finally pounced on him. 

 

Immediately searing red pain shot through his left leg. Teeth met bone and bone met air. Hyungseob’s vision clouded over as he felt himself be dragged through the snow. He tried not to gag as he heard a sound that could only be described as a twig breaking, though his even addled senses knew that wasn't the case. A breath caught in his throat as he tried and failed to escape the death grip that the wolf had on his leg. The others soon surrounded him, he imagined them tearing his corpse limb from limb. His vision blurred further with tears and exhaustion. 

 

Something woke up deep inside Hyungseob, indignant and wrathful. Hot white rage pumped through his veins, and fury took over his mind.  **_Kill them!_ ** Hyungseob could feel his hackles raising.  **_Kill them! Kill them! Kill them!_ ** His mind seemed to sharpen, every sensation sent bursts of color into his brain. He was aware of too much, and too little at the same time. It was getting harder to think, so Hyungseob stopped. He gave complete control to the side of his brain that wanted to decorate the trees with the entrails of the beasts who  **DARE** touch him.  **_Kill them! Kill them! Kill them!_ ** So Hyungseob did, and the forest had never looked so pretty in red.

 

Hyungseob remembered stumbling after that, every footstep was a promise to himself to keep going, deeper and deeper into the forest. He didn’t notice when the ground disappeared, and if the nearing water looked less like a death sentence and more like a soft feathery bed? Well, he could hardly be blamed.

 


	3. The Meeting

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> heyo! i'm back! not much to say about this chapter except that this has more dialogue than i've ever done, so im sure some of it might be a little awkward, but i hope you enjoy anyhow

The first thing that Hyungseob noticed when he woke up was warmth. Warmer even than his mother’s tent during the cold winter months, before he and Woojin had moved out. The second was that his body ached, his arms and legs were leaden, and he imagined that if he tried to move they would fall right off. His eyes felt glued shut, but after working for a while he was able to open them, only to see nothing but pink. He tried to focus, but couldn’t make out what he was looking at, his vision still blurry. Hyungseob wondered for a moment if he really had died, or maybe he had gone blind and this is what he had to look at for the rest of his life. 

  


If this was what death was, it sure had comfortable clothes. He was covered by a blanket, but even then he could feel soft pants, softer than any he had worn in his life.  _ If this is some compensation for everything I'm sure not complaining.  _ The blanket on top of him was also soft, everything seemed to be soft and comfortable in the afterlife. If there wasn't a confusing pink thing with him he might consider it perfect.

  


Whatever the pink blob was began to move, and soon Hyungseob found himself looking into the face of a very furry, smelly “thing”. It looked like when the younger wolves tried to shift but got stuck half way. Hyungseob realized that whatever “it” was probably waiting for him to say something. “Um, hello?” Hyungseob’s voice was scratchy and hoarse, “Who are you?” the  _ thing _ grunted in response, so Hyungseob kept on, “Where am I? Did you bring me here?” Did he hear footsteps from somewhere around him in this- tent? It wasn’t made of cloth like the one’s of his clan, but he sure wasn’t in a cave. Hyungseob’s eyebrows knitted together, “Wood?” The footsteps grew nearer.

  


“Um, I don’t mean to pry, but are you talking to my pig?” Hyungseob’s head snapped to where the voice came from. A boy stood in the room now. He smelled strange, not like any of the boys from Hyungseob's clan. This boy smelled like flowers, and the sun, and a thousand other things he had never even heard of. His face looked kind, but Hyungseob knew what could hide behind kind faces. Just to be on the safe side Hyungseob let out a low growl, hoping that this stranger wouldn't know that Hyungseob doubted that he could even raise his arm, let alone fight.

  


Apparently, his message was heard loud and clear though because the boy quickly stumbled back with his hands raised. Emboldened by this small victory Hyungseob decided to question this boy, obviously his pink friend was much less talkative. “Who are you?” he barked out. The boy retreated even further into the background. Hyungseob got a much better view of the space he was in, it was like a box, a big one, even bigger than his father’s chests. On the far side of the box was a fire, and on the other side was the boy. The pink thing hung close to Hyungseob, and looking down he realized he was in one of the most comfortable mats he had ever laid on. There was only one of them in the box, and Hyungseob suddenly felt a little bad about being so mean to the boy, he must have given him his mat. 

  


“Listen, I’m not going to hurt you if that’s what you're worried about.” The boy began, voice trembling, “I found you by the bank of the river, and you looked hurt. I’m sorry if I should’ve just left you alone. You've been asleep for a few days, but you're free to go anytime, I'm not keeping you captive.” Hyungseob could feel the fear coming off the boy in waves, this was the first time anyone had ever actually been afraid of him. He refused to meet Hyungseob’s gaze, and Hyungseob wondered how he looked at that moment. He imagined he looked fearsome and commanding, someone that his father would be proud of. Somehow the thought didn’t sit as well with him. 

  


Taking pity on the boy, he decided that honey would work better than vinegar right now. Especially because whether he knew it or not, the boy had complete control of the situation. If he wanted to kill him right now, Hyungseob doubted he could do much about it, seeing as how the simple action of moving his head sent a painful jolt right through the center of his brain. 

  


“Hey, hey, I’m not gonna hurt you either. I’m sorry for scaring you.” The boy seemed unconvinced, so Hyungseob continued, “Even if I wanted to, I feel like a light breeze could end me so please, don't think I’m gonna leap out of this mat and kill you.” At this the boy seemed to relax a little bit more and began creeping closer to Hyungseob, stopping a few feet away, prepared to run if Hyungseob so much as moved a finger. At this distance, Hyungseob could tell that the boy was probably younger than him, or maybe he wasn't, maybe he only looked like it and he was actually a thousand years old. Hyungseob was so out of his element nothing would surprise him now. 

  


“Could you tell me why I am in a box, and why your friend looks so strange?” 

  


The boy’s eyes widened and he squawked out a laugh, “Um, excuse me what?!” 

  


“I asked why I am in a box and why your friend looks like he got stuck mid shift, pretty understandable questions, given the circumstances.” Hyungseob shot back indignantly.

  


“Um well firstly you aren’t in a box, you’re in- well I mean, you’re in my room, and it may be a little small but it’s no box!” The boy crossed his arms, definitely not afraid of Hyungseob anymore. “Secondly, shift? He’s a pig I don’t know how he could “shift” to anything, let along get stuck in between.” He took a few steps closer to Hyungseob, knelt down and felt his forehead before he could think better of it, “Is your head okay? You don’t have a fever but you were pretty beat up when I found you.”

  


“I mean I feel like I lost a wrestling match with a boulder, but I’ll live.” He brought his attention back to the “pig”, “So he just looks like that?”

  


The boy pulled back, and sat down in front of Hyungseob “Yep! His name’s Sprout, by the way.” Sprout grunted at this. 

  


Hyungseob was able to get a better view of it now, and it was huge, easily bigger than him in either form and maybe even bigger than Woojin. Hairy too, with crossed eyes and giant ears perched on top of its head. “He doesn't look like a sprout to me, he’s the whole tree!”

  


“Hey! Don't insult him, he’s sensitive!” The boy crossed his arms again and pouted.  _ Definitely a child then. Probably. _

  


“Could I at least know the name of the owner of the biggest animal I've ever seen, who lives in a box, and kidnaps people that he finds passed out on river banks?” Hyungseob fluttered his eyelashes for comedic effect, causing the boy to scoff.

  


“It's still a room, not a box, and my name is Lee Euiwoong, and like I said, I didn't kidnap you, you're free to leave whenever you like.”

  


“Like I said, I didn't kidnap you, you're free to leave whenever you like. Also, still a room, not a box.” The boy flashed a coy smile, “The name is Lee Euiwoong.”

  


“Come again?”

  


“What?”

  


“I'm sorry it's just I've never met someone whose name is the sound of someone throwing up.”

  


His eyes flashed with anger, “Don't test me, I dragged you out of the ravine, I can throw you right back in.” He sighed, “Of course the first person I decide to help turns out to be a jerk!” The boy-  _ Euiwoong _ \- stood up and stalked off to the other corner of the room. “Yeah yeah, laugh it up! Haha, right?! Let's make fun of our savior's name! I guess you must be feeling all better if you feel up to tormenting me, how would you feel if I kicked you out now, huh? I bet that would feel great!” Euiwoong huffed and looked at anything but the boy on the mat.

  


“Listen, I'm sorry, I've just never heard a name like that. Please don't get angry, if you leave I think Sprout is gonna eat me!” Hyungseob whined, doing his best imitation of grabby hands even though he was pretty sure every bone in his hands was broken.

  


Euiwoong sighed and took his spot back near Hyungseob. “Anyways you never told me your name, either.”

  


“Ah, I’m Hyungseob!” Euiwoong starts laughing hysterically, grabbing at his stomach and pointing. “Hey! What’s so funny about that!”

  


“Nothing, it's just now you know how it feels.” Euiwoong settled back into his seat, obviously very pleased with himself.  _ Immature too, I see. _ “So, Heong Seop-”

  


“Hyungseob.”

  


“Sorry, Hyungseob, how did you even get here? I've never seen you, and I know everyone in this village. I assume you aren't human, so what are you? You said something about shift, so fairy? Or maybe a mermaid, wait don't tell me, you're a dragon!” Euiwoong’s eyes lit up at this, and he stared down at Hyungseob in anticipation, as if he expected him to start breathing flames, or sprout wings.

  


“Wolf, I’m a werewolf.”

  


Euiwoong raised a bemused eyebrow, “I'm sure you are, and I’m the Great Giant Bilmidor, slayer of Kirsot the Black.”

  


“You're Bilmidor?! I thought you would be taller! Or is this the work of the trickster nymph, Eiersodi?! Is that why you're in the mountains? You're waiting for your apprentice Semadil to find a cure, aren't you! But then why are you going by Euiwoong? Is it so that word doesn't get out that Great Bilmidor is small and weak, causing your old rival Timisor the Corrupt to attempt to slay you for once and all?!” Looking back at Euiwoong, Hyungseob noticed that the boy’s eyes had glazed over slightly, “Hello? Bilmidor?”

  


“Hyungseob?” Hyungseob nodded eagerly, We’re gonna have to work on your sarcasm detection.”

  


“Yes sir, Bilmidor!” Euiwoong swore his soul was about to leave his body.

  


“I’m Euiwoong, you're not a werewolf, and it's it's probably time to eat, you're hungry aren't you?” Of course the moment he said that, Hyungseob’s stomach grumbled, loudly. That was all the answer Euiwoong needed, and he left the room with Sprout waddling in tow. 

  


Hyungseob wondered what else there was besides this room. What if this room was just a room within another room? Or maybe they were far below the earth, and the sun had never touched this wood. Looking around Hyungseob saw a big stool, with a piece of wood on the back of it, like the supportive beds pregnant women in his clan sometimes used, except this wood went straight up and down.  _ I wonder if that’s an expecting bed too? Can Euiwoong give birth?  _ The thought caused him to shudder, and he went no further with that train of thought. On the other side of the room, opposite the strange stool was a blanket hanging on the wall by a rod. It reminded Hyungseob of the tent flaps that the older women would always decorate with intricate stitching and colorful beads. It was too far off the ground to be a tent cover, so he added that to the already very long list of things he needed to ask Euiwoong.

  


“Dinner’s ready!” Euiwoong walked back into the room holding two steaming bowls of  _ something _ . He set one down in front of Hyungseob and his mouth immediately started to water. Hyungseob couldn’t place most of the smells, but all he knew was that he wanted it in his mouth  **now** . 

  


“Euiwoong!” He whined, “What is that and why aren’t I already eating it!”

  


Euiwoong chuckled, “It’s just some soup, calm down.”

  


Hyungseob tried to sit up, but grimaced in pain, “Woongie!” He whined, “It hurts! But I want soup!” 

  


Euiwoong laughed at his childish companion, “Woongie, huh? We haven’t even known each other for a day and already the nicknames.” Hyungseob rolled his eyes and laid back down again. Euiwoong settled himself on the floor again and decided to feed the both of them. 

  


They ate in silence for a while before Hyungseob’s curiosity got the better of him, “Woong? Why do you have a pregnancy stool in your room?” 

  


Euiwoong eyes bulged, and he choked on his mouthful, “H-Hyungseob, what?!” He sputtered, clutching his neck. 

  


“Your stool over there,” Hyungseob pointed as best he could, given the circumstances, “It’s for pregnancies right? That’s why it has the back on it! Though why is it straight up and down? Don’t pregnant people like to recline?” He paused for a moment, seemingly planning what he was going to say next, meanwhile Euiwoong tried to clean up the soup that lay in a puddle around him. “Euiwoong, can you get pregnant?” The soup spilled again as Euiwoong jerked his  head towards the boy in his bed. 

  


“Hyungseob,  _ what _ ?!” He looked at the boy as though he had just grown another head, “Hyungseob, that’s a  _ chair  _ that you  _ sit on. _ Pregnant or not.” 

  


“Well then why does it have a back?”

  


“Why shouldn’t it?! Where do you come from where chairs don’t have backs?!” 

  


“The valley,” Hyungseob stated simply, “We aren’t lazy, and can sit straight without help.”

  


“Well excuse me for wanting to be comfortable when I sit down.” Euiwoong grumbled.

  


They began to eat again in comfortable silence until, “Euiwoong why do you have a tent flap on your wall?” Euiwoong sputtered and spat for the second time that day.

  


“Seob, would you stop doing that?!” Euiwoong wiped his chin, glaring at Hyungseob. 

  


“Seob, huh? We haven't even known each other for a day and already with the nicknames.” This earned him another glare from Euiwoong. “Seriously though, what is that thing?” gesturing to the “tent flap”.

  


“Hyungseob that’s a curtain,” Euiwoong stood up, walking over to the offending article, “It blocks out the sun.” With that he grasped the fabric and yanked, blanketing the room in bright light.

  


“Woong, what the  _ heck?! _ ’ Hyungseob screwed his eyes tightly shut, covering his head with his blanket, “Stop it! It burns!”

  


Euiwoong chuckled, and tightly pulled the curtains back together again, “That, Seob, is sunlight here in the mountains. Specifically the “Midnight Sun”, it’s never dark here this time of year.”

  


Hyungseob peaked his head out again, “So when do you sleep?” 

  


“When we’re tired.” Euiwoong said simply. Hyungseob nodded, head filled with a thousand questions. Euiwoong seemed to sense this and set their soup far away, he’d had enough of choking that night. 

  


The barrage started simply enough, “Where am I?”

  


“In my house, in a village called Résoro.”

  


“Résoro?” Hyungseob cocked a confused eyebrow.

  


“Named after Némoro Résoro, he was a wizard guy who hiked up this mountain a few thousand years ago and dropped dead here a day afterwards. It's why we can grow plants up here, or something like that.”

  


“I think I knew a Résoro once…” Mused Hyungseob, eyes lost in thought.

  


“Probably, there’s like ten of them in this village, popular name here. I assume your “valley” is nearby, wouldn't surprise me if it was one of ours that you've met.” 

  


“Probably..” Hyungseob's eyebrows knotted in deep thought, as though he was trying to call forth some long forgotten memory. Nothing came from it though, so he focused back on his host.

  


“Anyway, my question now. Where is your valley? You keep talking about it, but I know every nook and cranny near here and there’s no valley.” 

  


Hyungseob’s eyes lit up in delight, though many of his memories from the valley were unpleasant, the valley itself was one of the things he loved most in this world. “Ah! I’m not sure exactly where it is, but it lies between two mountains, that a river runs through, so we get water! It’s spectacular, there’s even one part of it completely covered in purple flowers, and then near the river there's trees everywhere! There’s some plains where the young boys hunt, but I never liked it...”, He purposely left out the part about the old lady, and all the magical creatures he had dreamed up as a kid, “Near the center is where our camp is, and to the north it opens up more, and there are other clans, though we were never close with them.” Hyungseob paused to catch his breath, while Euiwoong raised an incredulous eyebrow.

  


“We? Who all else lived with you?” Hyungseob could tell that Euiwoong wasn’t taking him seriously.

  


“Well there were the tentmakers, and the warriors, and the teachers. All kinds of people really, the people who cooked, the people who sewed clothes, the people who hunted, though they were usually also warriors.” Hyungseob paused for a minute, eyes seeming suddenly very far away, “And then there was my family, my mom, dad, and Woojin.” He said no more after that, and Euiwoong decided not to press, he knew what that silence usually meant.

  


Euiwoong decided to clean up and call it a night after that. He was in the process of washing their bowls when, “Euiwoong!” Even in another room Hyungseob's voice was loud and clear, his voice seemed to be specially made to whine.

  


“Seob, what is it?” Euiwoong tried not to sound as exasperated as he felt, but it was hard when his guest was so time consuming. He walked in to find Hyungseob haphazardly tucked in, with only his head peaking out from under the blanket.

  


“Euiwoong, where are you gonna sleep? This is your room after all.” Hyungseob looked so genuinly worried, that Euiwoong couldn’t help but chuckle.

  


“Where I’ve slept for the last few days Seob, in the kitchen.” It was warm in the kitchen, that’s where the main fire was, so Euiwoong really couldn’t complain as long as he kept it clean.

  


Hyungseob’s distress only seemed to mount after that comment, “Woongie! That’s a horrible place to sleep!” 

  


“Seob, do you even know what a kitchen is?” Euiwoong crossed his arms as he leaned on the door frame, waiting for his answer.

  


“No, but I know that it can’t be better than this! Euiwoong, it’s so comfortable! You didn’t even know me, how could you ever give this up!” Euiwoong let out a bemused laugh, Hyungseob’s complete lack of knowledge of pretty much  _ anything _ would be annoying, if it wasn’t so funny.  _ Maybe his valley story was true after all.  _

  


“Hyungseob it’s fine, I don’t mind, really.” Euiwoong was really too tired to deal with his toddler of a guest having a tantrum over sleeping arrangements. He’d been awake pretty much nonstop the last few days, with the exception of a few naps here and there, waiting for Hyungseob to wake up. Granted the thin air up in the mountains meant that he didn’t need that much sleep to begin with, but he could feel the lack taking its toll. 

  


“It’s not though…” Hyungseob’s puppy eyes were the thing that finally did him in.  _ Curse whoever made him a sap.  _

  


“Would it make you feel better if I slept in here?”  

  


“Yes please!”  _ This is a bad idea Euiwoong, the murderer option is still on the table. _ But nobody could ever say Euiwoong was cold hearted. He gathered his blankets and pillow and brought it all into the room. As he was setting  up his makeshift bed he could feel Hyungseob's eyes on him.

  


It wasn't until he was comfortable and slowly drifting off that Hyungseob finally broke the silence, “Euiwoong?”

  


“What?” He didn't want to be annoyed with Hyungseob but he had wanted to be asleep a half hour ago before he’d been forced to move, and his patience was thin, to say the least. 

  


“Where are your parents?”

  


Euiwoong sighed, “There are wolves in the forest who fear nothing, Hyungseob.”


	4. The Beginning

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> and another chapter done! chapter 5 may take a wee bit longer, school has been requiring most of my attention atm, HOWEVER it should be done fairly promptly, im having to work on it between classes. I hope you enjoy!!

“Euiwoong, why don’t you think that I’m a werewolf?” Hyungseob was watching Euiwoong cook dinner as he sat on the counter, swinging his legs. Euiwoong had tried to scold him into stopping, but Hyungseob didn’t understand why you would have platforms if they weren’t meant to sit or sleep on. Or maybe he did and he just liked the way Euiwoong would get flustered and annoyed, maybe. 

 

Hyungseob had been awake for a few days now, and had learned a few things about the boy in front of him. Euiwoong came from a long line of farmers, he loved stories about the outside world, and at one point was working 3 jobs just to keep his head above water. Hyungseob didn't understand all of Euiwoong's stories, but he enjoyed the way Euiwoong told them. His eyes got all far away, and his voice would go soft and you'd think that he was living the stories himself. Sometimes he couldn't even finish the story, he’d be laughing too hard, or he’d mess it up so many times it was hardly worth completing. Euiwoong loved stories, he knew more than Hyungseob could ever hope to. He collected them like they were something precious and whenever he heard a new one he held on to every word, fearful that he might forget any part. 

 

All of Hyungseob’s scrapes and cuts had healed, save for the nasty gash on his leg where the wolf had latched on and dragged him. His broken leg was much better too, and he could get around the house just fine, as long has he had something to support his other side. Euiwoong hadn’t believed it when he went to dress one of Hyungseob’s cuts, only to find that it was all healed up, the only trace of it left being the bright pink scar on his leg. Hyungseob had tried to convince him that it was because he was a werewolf, but Euiwoong had merely laughed it off, muttering something about it being more likely he was a unicorn than a werewolf. Hyungseob was frankly fed up with it. He may not have been the best werewolf, but nonetheless he was one, and he took pride in that fact.  

 

Euiwoong paused in his cooking, taking time to eye the man on the counter. He sighed and turned back to their meal, “Hyungseob, I have no doubt that you may  _ think _ that you were a werewolf, in fact if it were possible for you to be one you’d probably have me convinced too. But werewolves have been extinct for hundreds of years.”

 

Hyungseob's eyes narrowed, “No we have not been.” Every word was punctuated with fire and indignation. His family was  _ not  _ dead, and anyone who insinuated otherwise would regret it. 

 

Euiwoong chuckled, Hyungseob was nothing if not persistent. “Alright, then you're a werewolf, what's your proof? Don't they spend most of their time howling at the moon or something?”

 

Hyungseob  _ did _ have proof. He was injured though, and shifting with broken bones was on the list of top 100 worst things to do as a werewolf. Granted if he didn’t the topic would be put to the side again, and this was the first time that Euiwoong had even  _ entertained _ the thought that he might be a werewolf, most of the time it was shot down immediately. So Hyungseob gritted his teeth, hopped down from the counter, and let the process happen. 

 

Pain, near immediate pain. When Hyungseob was younger he tried to shift with a broken nose and had thought that was bad, this was excruciating. Nothing in his body seemed to fit right in this new form, and he was pretty sure his leg wasn’t supposed to bend like that at  _ all. _ When the ringing in his newly formed ears quieted down he heard screaming and he wasn’t entirely sure whose it was. 

 

The room wouldn’t stop spinning, Hyungseob had to bite back bile, laying down and hoping that everything would just _ stop _ soon. He didn’t know where Euiwoong was now, maybe he scared him off. Maybe Euiwoong had left him here and he had just chased off the only friend he had ever made. He had been alone all his life because he wasn’t scary enough, and now he was alone because he was  _ too _ scary, he’d laugh if everything didn’t hurt. Why had he even done this? He was so  _ stupid _ , he should’ve just let the issue go. If only Euiwoong hadn’t been so adamant about werewolves being extinct, maybe he would’ve just let it pass. Hyungseob would’ve waited for the rest of his wounds to heal, and have gotten on his merry way. Except he didn’t want to do that, Hyungseob didn’t want to just leave and only be a slightly interesting blip on Euiwoong’s radar. Now he had messed it all up though, and everything was horrible.

 

“Hy-Hyungseob?” A voice cut through his hateful monologue, Euiwoong? He was still here? Hyungseob looked around and spotted him, backed into the corner looking for all the world as though he had just scene his grave. He probably thought he had, suddenly seeing his friend turn into a beast. 

 

Hyungseob tried to make comforting sounds, but they came out as more of a snarl than anything. From his place on the floor Hyungseob could make out Euiwoong slowly standing up, still hugging the wall. He inched closer and closer to the wolf on the floor, from this distance Hyungseob could see that he was shaking. 

 

“H-hey buddy? That’s you right? Can you hear me?” His voice trembled, but Euiwoong kept on. “You’re not gonna eat me right?” Hyungseob nodded as best he could and Euiwoong finally crossed the gap, placing his hand on the side of Hyungseob’s face. Both boys relaxed into the touch. Euiwoong let out a breathy laugh, “Um, well, I guess this means you weren’t lying huh?” Hyungseob nodded again. Euiwoong collapsed on the ground beside the wolf, “Never, ever, ever do something like that again without telling me I’m not sure if my heart could take it.”

 

Euiwoong looked over at the wolf boy on the ground, “You can get back, right? Please say you can get back.” Hyungseob gave Euiwoong a look, “Okay, bad question of course you can get back, you're a werewolf! Oh my god, my friend’s a werewolf. Oh my god!” Euiwoong suddenly stood up and started pacing the floor, gripping his hair with white knuckles, “I have a werewolf in my kitchen! I have a real live werewolf in my house! This isn’t even the least bit insane to you?!” 

 

Hyungseob decided that he had let his friend suffer for too long in silence, and began the process of shifting back. It was less painful than last time, but his bones still felt like they were moving into all the wrong places. Two bones rubbing against each other in their search for their proper spot was enough to get him feeling nauseous all over again, and not for the first time in his life he envied the wolves who could shift and not have to focus on keeping all their lunch down. Finally he was in his human form again, and he couldn’t have been more thankful. 

 

Euiwoong had moved back during the shift and now was looking at him with something that could only be described as awe. “So you can just do that? Go from human to wolf like it’s nothing?”

 

“Trust me, It’s definitely not nothing. I’ve never quite gotten used to everything moving around. Though I’ve always been the outlier.”

 

“So everything about the valley, and werewolves and all that, that was true?”

 

“I’d never lie about that, that's my home. But there  _ is  _ something I need to tell you.” 

 

Euiwoong looked at him quizzically, “You’re not gonna have to eat me, right? Or sacrifice me to the moon? Oh god is this like those ABO stories that I’ve heard about?”

 

“AB- _ what _ ?! Euiwoong no, I just need your help, I’m not gonna kill you or whatever else you were thinking about.”

 

“Oh thank god,” Euiwoong’s relief didn't last long though, “Help with what exactly?”

 

This was it, this was Hyungseob's chance to be the hero and save his clan. “How do I make the magic come back?”

 

“What?” Euiwoong looked at him like he had just grown another head.

 

“Y’know, the magic! It's dying, and I have to save it!”

 

“Hyungseob, magic isn't dead, if it was you’d be dead, and this whole mountain would be a frozen wasteland.”

 

“But it  _ is  _ though! And that’s happening! Alright I know this is hard to believe but I promise you it's not. In my valley people have been getting sick, and nobody can find a cure, but I know how to make it all better I just need to know where to go.” Euiwoong stared at him as he mulled over his statement. While Hyungseob waited for Euiwoong he started to smell something very unpleasant. B _ urning?  _ “Euiwoong, soup!”

 

Euiwoong's eyes widened, “Fuck!” Jumping up he tended to the pot of now blackened and charred noodles. “Uh, well we’ll talk about this later, um I gotta clean this mess up.” 

 

Dismissal, Hyungseob was being dismissed. Euiwoong wasn't a good liar, Hyungseob knew that he didn't believe him. Something needed to be done though, with or without Euiwoong's help.  He eyed the boy in front of him, as he scraped the pot out,  _ why was all this so hard to believe?  _ They'd already established that Euiwoong lived on a magic mountain, and Hyungseob was a werewolf, so why was this so hard? He’d drag it out of the other boy some how or another, but that could be saved for another day, right now he was pretty sure his leg was broken in new places.

 

Days passed and Hyungseob’s injuries healed. It became increasingly evident that there was an unspoken question between the two boys,  _ what happens now? _ Hyungseob had no real reason to stay at Euiwoong's house anymore, and while Euiwoong enjoyed the company, it took up a lot of his day to care for another person. It seemed as though the two boys were stuck, unenthusiastic conversations over bland meals leading to uncomfortable silences and at least one of them leaving the dinner table to eat in another room. Even Sprout wasn't handling it well, the poor pig was nearly beside himself with worry, seemingly eating up the tension like it was the lovingly prepared meals that he had been skipping lately.

 

In the end the decision was made without either of them really having to talk it out. Euiwoong simply came home one day after buying the ingredients for supper that night to find Hyungseob's bed neatly made, with the boy nowhere in sight. “Hyungseob?” No answer, “Hyungseob?!” The house was empty. Euiwoong dropped the groceries on the floor and ran out. Hyungseob didn't know how the village worked, he didn't know what road went where, for all Euiwoong knew Hyungseob could have broken into someone's house, or fallen off a cliff, or gotten stomped by horses, because he just didn't  _ get  _ it. Hyungseob didn't know anything about this world and now he was wandering around probably lost somewhere or dead because Euiwoong had been too stupid to just  _ talk _ to him.

 

Euiwoong ran past his neighbors house’s, straining for some glimpse of the other, “Hyungseob!” Where was he?! There were only so many places to get lost in this small town, but so far Euiwoong hadn’t spotted the other boy, just faces that seemed more like strangers than people Euiwoong had grown up with. Some yelled out his name, wondering why Euiwoong was in such a hurry but he soldiered on, every second that he didn’t find Hyungseob was another second that he was in danger. Euiwoong wondered if Hyungseob had shifted, if he had he’d certainly be dead by now. After Euiwoong’s parents the entire town hated wolves, and sometimes innocent pups were slaughtered on the anniversary of his parent’s death. Euiwoong was no friend of wolves, but he  _ was _ a friend of Hyungseob’s and that was all that mattered. 

 

The sound of Euiwoong’s boots echoed off the cobblestone streets, arms pumping and chest heaving. Where would Hyungseob even go? He didn’t know where he was going but obviously that didn’t bother him, Euiwoong should’ve known that Hyungseob would be this stupid. He paused, heart beating wildy in his chest, “Hyungseob!” 

 

“What?!” Wait,  _ what?  _ Euiwoong looked up and there he was, standing on the top of some poor person’s roof, doing who knows what. 

 

“Hyungseob! You’re not dead!”

 

“Of course I’m not dead, but since you decided to be no help I had to find it elsewhere.”

 

“What do you mean you had to find it elsewhere?! You’re on a roof!”

 

“I’m trying to get answers but it seems as though this entire town is as tight lipped as you.” Oh no, this whole situation reeked of bad decisions. 

 

“Hyungseob, who have you talked to?”

 

“This guy here! But he won’t say anything.” Hyungseob pulled back and showed Euiwoong the “person” he was talking to. 

 

Euiwoong couldn’t hold his laughter, after the weirdness that was today this was the cherry on top, “Hyungseob, it’s no wonder he wouldn’t talk to you, that’s a scarecrow, not a person.”

 

“Scare...Crow?” Hyungseob held the poor thing closer to him. 

 

“Yes, to keep crows away from crops, he’s filled with straw, Hyungseob. No brain to speak of.”

 

“Oh, well then why was he telling me where to go?” 

 

“What?”

 

“Yeah! He said if I kept down this road it’d be a very nice way!” Euiwoong truly didn’t know what to make of this situation, nothing in his life had prepared him for having to shout at a werewolf on a roof holding a scarecrow that could apparently “talk”, it only got worse when he heard the door to the house open, because some mystical force apparently had a personal vendetta against him. 

 

“Euiwoong, is that you?” Of course, it’d be just his luck that the house he was yelling at would house old Mrs. Nèmora was staying at. He signed to Hyungseob that he was to remain quiet, and could only hope he understood.

 

“Yes Mrs. Nèmora?” He tried not to look too guilty but it was hard when Hyungseob was still on the roof, clutching a stolen scarecrow.

 

“Why are you out here screaming your fool head of? Can’t anyone get peace in this town?!” She was tiny and ancient, but could still probably box his ears if she so pleased.

 

“Um, crow! There was a crow on your roof that was cawing and I was cawing back!” 

 

“Have you lost all your brains, child?! Why would you go and do something as stupid as that, and at this hour too! Some of us are trying to take our afternoon naps!”

 

“Yes Mrs. N èmora! All my brains have just leaked out of my ears! I have not a lick of sense left in me!”

 

She looked at him suspiciously, but seemed sated by the answer. Nodding, she gave him one last weary glance before climbing back into her house. As soon as she was out of sight Euiwoong sagged, by the end of today he was gonna have white hair. 

 

“Alright Hyungseob, if you don’t come down right now I’ll climb up there and get you myself!” He tried his best to yell without making too much noise. He felt a tap on his shoulder and there was Hyungseob, still holding that god forsaken scare crow. He may have let out a shriek a few decibels too loud for the situation they were in, but before Mrs. Nèmora could come out again and yell at the  _ both _ of them this time he grabbed Hyungseob’s hand and ran. 

 

Once they got to a safe enough distance, and Euiwoong no longer feared the surprisingly strong grip of an old lady, they stopped and just caught their breath for a while. Only for a moment though because Euiwoong wanted answers, and he was about ready to throw that scarecrow off the mountain. 

 

“Alright Seob, mind telling me what all  _ that  _ was about?!” 

 

“Look Euiwoong, whether you like it or not, I’ve gotta get off this mountain and save my family, with or without your help. I was just trying to see if I could get any more information about where I should start looking.”

 

Euiwoong sighed, “Okay, if you wanna leave, you can do that, I won’t stop you. Please don’t ask for any information around here though, I can assure you that no one in this village knows anything. The last time we got a new face around here they nearly tore the poor sap to pieces questioning him. If you go around asking about magic, and telling everyone and their mother that you’re a werewolf, you’d be lucky if they didn’t dissect you then and there.”

 

“Got it!” Hyungseob’s stomach grumbled, “... But maybe I’ll leave tomorrow, I am kinda hungry.” Euiwoong laughed at that and everything was forgiven, except maybe for the giant elephant in the room, or rather the giant scarecrow. 

 

“Hyungseob...  where did you even  _ get _ that thing?”

 

“Oh! Him? Found him in a field!” Euiwoong wasn’t going to ponder Hyungseob’s prospective career as a burglar, that would probably be enough to do him in. Instead he made Hyungseob stick it in the ground for it to be someone else’s problem. As they walked back home Euiwoong looked back at it and swore that it waved, but that was probably Hyungseob’s special breed of madness getting to him.

 

They got home and Euiwoong started fixing up dinner using the slightly rumpled ingredients. Hyungseob as always sat on the counter, Euiwoong had long since given up scolding him. Sprout too was at ease, laying on his bed, grunting every once in awhile. Everything was almost too normal, this might be the last time that they had dinner together and here they were, acting like nothing was different.

 

It wasn't until the two were sat down at the table, picking at food that neither really had the appetite for, that the silence was broken, “I guess you’ll need a sleeping bag.”

 

Hyungseob eyed the boy in front of him, trying to gauge his emotions, but Euiwoong was impossible to read. “I guess I will.”

 

“And you’ll need food and supplies, somewhere around here I have a map, which you’ll need as well.” Euiwoong's tone was almost too casual, as though they weren't talking about Hyungseob leaving forever. Hyungseob could tell it was forced though, that was the only crack in Euiwoong’s otherwise perfect mask of indifference.

 

“You could come with me.” Silence, the two stared at each other, challenging the other to say something. 

 

“You know why I can't, Hyungseob.” Ah yes, Euiwoong, the perfect farmer boy, 8th in his lineage, could never leave his crops. 

 

“You can't honestly tell me you want to be a farmer all your life, stay on your little mountain, tilling the soil till your head turns to dirt.” 

 

“Not everyone has to be a hero, Hyungseob.”

 

“Not everyone has to be a hero, but everyone should be happy. I know what unhappy looks like, and you've got it written all over your face.”

 

“I’m  **fine** , I don't mind being a farmer. At least I'm not delusional.”

 

“Delusional?!” Hyungseob threw his hands up, My family is dying! What else am I supposed to do? Sit and twiddle my thumbs?!”

 

“Hyungseob just shut up! Go off on your wild goose chase, I'll stay here where I'm perfectly happy and safe.” It was silent after that, if they had had any appetite it surely was gone by now. They cleaned up and got ready for bed without saying a word to each other, neither wanting to apologize but both regretting it deeply. 

 

Once the two were in bed Hyungseob broke the silence, “I’ll be leaving tomorrow.” If either of them had wanted any sleep that night neither got it.

 

That morning the two of them woke up, got dressed, and ate without truly feeling anything. There was something terribly final about the whole thing. They tried to stall for as long as possible, Euiwoong taking extra time on Hyungseob’s food, and Hyungseob seemingly doing everything twice, just to stretch the minutes as far as they would go. Sprout was nearly beside himself, wandering from one room to the next, pausing, grunting, and then moving on. He would stare at the boys for a moment, make a sort of pained noise, and then start again on his cycle. It wasn't until Hyungseob was standing at the door, ready to go, far before they were prepared to say goodbye, that the reality set in.

 

“So… I guess this is goodbye?” Euiwoong stood by the door, refusing to step over the threshold, knowing that if he did he’d follow Hyungseob to the end of the earth.

 

“I guess so…” Hyungseob fiddled with the loose strings of the coat Euiwoong had let him borrow, though he guessed it wasn't really borrowing if he probably wasn't going to bring it back. 

 

“You remember the directions I gave you right? Don't stray from them or you’ll get lost, and probably die.” Euiwoong tried to play it off like his heart wasn't breaking into 100 little pieces with every word.

 

“Yeah… I have the map too, so I won't get lost…” The two stared at each other, seemingly unable to say goodbye, “You could still come with me, y’know. It would be nice to have someone who would keep me out of trouble.” 

 

“Hyungseob…” Scratch that, Euiwoong's heart was in shambles, 1000 pieces at least, if not completely turned to dust. As soon as he closed that door his heart would stop beating and he'd fall over dead, he knew it.

 

“I know, I know. Just… the offer’s always on the table.” 

 

“I’ll keep that in mind.” And with that Euiwoong smiled, a genuine smile, and closed the door. For the first time in a week Euiwoong’s house was silent.  _ Back to normal I guess. _ Except it wasn't, it would never be. Euiwoong would never open that door again because every time he did he’d think that Hyungseob would be on the other side. Euiwoong would have to break a window or something, climb through that. He would definitely have to burn Hyungseob's mat, keeping that in the house would be a special form of torment. He made a list of foods he could no longer eat as he tried to put his life back together. He folded blankets that had been strewn about, dusted, moved furniture, washed all the dishes, caught up on his reading, planned his meals for the rest of his life, and washed the dishes again before moving all the furniture back to its original position because everything was off and nothing was okay, and that was all within the span on an hour.

 

That was when he started getting the nerves. By now Hyungseob should have started the long journey down the mountain. Euiwoong had only made the trip once with his father, when they had taken a cart of produce down to a larger village when money was tighter. It had been cold, treacherous, and for most of the trip he had a rock in his boot. By the time they finally got to the village all their produce was rotten, and none of the merchants would take it. The outside world frightened Euiwoong, in this village everyone had known everyone since before anyone could remember, but the outside world? You could travel the whole world twice and never bump into the same soul. At least Euiwoong knew the dangers though, Hyungseob knew nothing. He’d get killed, or attacked by bandits, or put in a cage and paraded around for being the last werewolf.  _ The last werewolf. _ Euiwoong had just sent the last of a species into the greater world, with no protection whatsoever. That valley full of wolves that apparently exists be damned, what could they do when Hyungseob was across the world?

 

_ Euiwoong you’re so stupid. _ It would be fine, right? Hyungseob could take care of himself, he was a strong guy, if a little absent upstairs. Who was he to say that Hyungseob would crash and burn?  _ But Euiwoong, you don’t know _ . This was stupid, he was worrying over nothing, nothing! But the images of Hyungseob being poked and prodded, or falling off the edge of a cliff, or being kidnapped wouldn’t escape from his mind. 

 

He survived another hour before he was nearly tearing his hair out from the stress. By now Hyungseob would be out of the village on his own doing who knows what who knows where. Euiwoong assumed that Hyungseob was able to read maps but really who knew, he could have thought it was tinder for a fire. 

 

_ Maybe we could just ride out and check on him? _ No! He had his farm, he was meant to stay here.  _ But maybe a little adventure wouldn’t hurt? At least to the other village at the base of the mountain. _ No! This was a bad idea, a bad bad bad idea.  _ It might be fun, the crops won’t be ready for a few months still, they practically take care of themselves at this point! _ Well maybe… No! Euiwoong was not going to do something stupid and jeopardize his future like this, he wasn’t that stupid. He made a pact with himself that he would definitely  _ not _ go down the mountain as he put on his coat and prepared Sprout for the trip. Nobody ever said that he had to follow his own advice.

 

Sprout was practically gleaming from the prospect of meeting up with Hyungseob again. The boy had quickly become the pig’s favorite human, besides Euiwoong of course, despite the fact that he smelled like a bad thing. Hyungseob wasn’t a bad thing though, he was a good thing and gave Sprout lots of snacks so Sprout liked Hyungseob a lot. 

Euiwoong took one last look at his house, the place he had grown up and had lived for his whole life. The fields behind it were dark, he had many months before green sprouts would pop up, surely he would be back by then. He was only going to lead Hyungseob down the mountain, he’d probably be back within the day if he was fast, there was no need for any goodbyes. He would be back. 

 

He took the back paths through the village, he didn’t want to run into anyone and have to explain what he was doing, because the moment he did he would realize what a  _ stupid _ idea this was and hightail it back home. The path went from stone to dirt to grass and before Euiwoong was really ready he was making the slow descent down the mountain. He looked out for any sign of the boy, any broken twigs or newly disturbed rocks. Nothing stood out though and Euiwoong continued on. It wasn’t until Euiwoong heard distant singing that he knew he was close. Pointing Sprout toward the noise they raced forth, bursting through a ring of trees to finally meet their friend. 

 

“Euiwoong?!”, Hyungseob gaped at the boy and his pig. He stood up from the rock he had been resting on.

 

“I know I said I wasn't going to come right? Well you know nothing of the outside world, and I know I'm not much better but I do know more than you do whether you like it or not, I’m coming with you!” Euiwoong realized how stupid his explanation was and how ridiculous he must look, riding a giant pig through a forest. “Um, that is, if you want my help?”

 

“Sure!” 

 

“Sure?! Just sure?! Hyungseob I don't think you know what you're thinking of doing, but the world is huge! A-and we’re just two people and who knows this search could last our whole lives! I don't know how long werewolves live but I've only got maybe 65 years left in me! We could travel around the world and get captured by pirates and held for ransom, o-or we could, um- we could…”

 

“Euiwoong, you don't have to come with me, but I have no choice. I will say that I don't think there's anyone I'd rather have with me. Also I have no idea what pirates are so your fears mean nothing to me.”     
  


Of course didn’t didn’t, this was Hyungseob we were talking about. He wouldn’t know fear if it slapped him upside the head. “Oh God, what am I doing?” Euiwoong was stupid, this was a terrible idea and he knew it, what happened to only following him down to the village? He was so so so screwed.

 

“Living your life, now come on!” And with that the two boys went off into the great unknown, neither knowing where the future would take them.  



	5. The Forest

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahhhhh! I'm so so so sorry this chapter is late, i have like 3 AP classes that won't stop piling on the work! that and i had the biggest case of writers block ever with this chapter, this whole chapter wasn't really supposed to happen, but before I knew it point A to point B became point A to point 389. ANYWAYS, i hope you enjoy as always. oh and this wasn't beta'd so sorry if theres any errors, tell me if there are!
> 
> oh, just a little psa, euiwoong swears in this because when coming up with the dialogue it really didn't make sense for him not to swear??? like idk if that makes you uncomfortable, sorry, but it didn't really work otherwise. 
> 
> ALSO theres a lot of references to jesus and hell because i didn't wanna world build gods and goddesses, and also i find it kinda silly when there's like a weird way of saying stuff like hell and jesus that relates to the religion but it just sound weird to me, IDK if it's not your thing sorry again. hopefully the next chapter will be up in a more timely manner, but don't hold your breath.
> 
> PPS: HYUNGSEOB AND EUIWOONG ARE DEBUTING SOON AND IT SOUNDS SO GOOD O MY GOD. im a little sad that we have to wait for OT5, but im so proud of my boys. 
> 
> ANYWAYS BYE!!!

They traveled down the mountain for a time, pointing out things they found cool or funny along the way. Hyungseob seemed particularly entertained by the strange colored birds, and the squirrels who jumped from tree to tree. Euiwoong focused mostly on the changing environment around them. 

 

The last time he had traveled this way he had been much younger, and it had rained almost the entire time so he hadn’t had time to appreciate it. The farther down the two went the more things changed, there were more trees here, and the grass grew tall and proud. It was impossible to see five feet in front of you at some points from the foliage being as thick as it was. Euiwoong hoped that his internal compass was correct, otherwise he suspected they might never make it out. 

 

They had been traveling for a few hours in companionable silence when Euiwoong stopped dead in his tracks. Did that tree look eerily familiar or was it just him? He’d been in his share of forests, and he knew a tree from a tree, and these trees didn't look any different from the ones he had seen a few minutes ago. 

 

Looking around he noticed that the whole area looked familiar, too familiar. They were in a small clearing now, and he was pretty sure that he had made a comment about those same rocks having old man faces  _ hours  _ ago. The flowers too, blue pink and purple, all arranged in a half circle around a bush, he had joked that it looked like someone had had to rush off in the middle of planting them. Somehow the thought unsettled him more now, what if someone had been planting them, only to realize that they were stuck the same way Euiwoong was now? What if they were watching them behind the trees, just waiting for the right moment to strike?

 

On edge, Euiwoong glanced over his shoulder, straining his eyes for something moving that shouldn't be. He swore he saw a strange shape duck behind a tree, and that only spurred him on faster, trying to catch back up to Hyungseob.

 

He decided not to say anything, Euiwoong didn't want to worry his friend, but still, Hyungseob may be dense but surely he’d realize that the environment seemed to be repeating soon too.  _ Don’t panic, don’t panic, don’t panic _ . But Euiwoong was a worrier down to his bones and within minutes he had planned out the rest of the hours that they had together, before they would surely be eaten by some monster or shrivel up in starvation. Hyungseob for his part seemed unphased, whistling some song that Euiwoong swore he had heard, but couldn’t place as he skipped through the forest. 

 

_ What if we never find a way out? What if we’re stuck here forever?  _ Euiwoong’s heart quivered and shivered in his chest.  _ This was a bad idea, a bad bad bad idea.  _ The forest around them seemed all too innocent, but if he strained his eyes he imagined that he could make out thousands of tiny monsters, jeering and salivating, all waiting for their chance to taste his flesh. 

 

He kept a white knuckled grip on Sprout’s lead, begging his hands to stop shaking.  _ This was their punishment, they had set off to do something and had doomed themselves in the process _ . Maybe they had stepped over some fairy king’s grave, or not said some sort of prayer before beginning. Whatever it was they would suffer, Euiwoong was sure of it.

 

It was in the middle of Euiwoong’s panic he noticed something that unnerved him more than anything yet. He couldn’t hear Hyungseob anymore. Hyungseob often ran ahead, his legs seeming to work faster than his mind on their way to  _ hurry hurry hurry. _ That part didn’t worry Euiwoong, what bothered him was that Hyungseob was not a quiet person. The only time Hyungseob was silent was when he was eating. He mumbled in his sleep, chattered through the morning, whistled till lunch, and then sang till Euiwoong swore his ears were going to fall off, only to go to sleep and mumble again till dawn. The only thing worse than hearing Hyungseob was not hearing him. 

 

“Hyungseob?”, maybe he was only a few steps ahead of Euiwoong, maybe he had just rounded a tight bend, and that was why Euiwoong couldn’t hear him, “Hyungseob?!” No response. Maybe Hyungseob was just playing games with him, Hyungseob was probably just hiding up in a tree, waiting for Euiwoong to pass by to pounce on him. They’d fall to the ground and laugh because  _ How foolish was Euiwoong? Of course Hyungseob was right there all along! _ But all that never happened. Hyungseob wasn’t just around the corner, or in the trees, Hyungseob was gone.

 

Euiwoong bit down waves of nausea, his nails digging crescent moons into his palms.  _ He was going to die out here and no one would find his body.  _ Sprout eyed him warily, the feeling of his owner’s panic making him nervous.  _ Where is the other human? He was here, now he is not. Is it because he smells like a bad thing? But Hyungseob is a good thing, where is that human? _

 

Sprout pulled on his lead, wanting to find Hyungseob, but Euiwoong was frozen where he stood. The trees all seemed to taunt him, circling around the boy and his pig, growing in tight where they could. They knew where Hyungseob was, they were the one’s that took him. Euiwoong took a stuttering breath,  _ calm down. _ Hyungseob was gone, so Euiwoong had to find him, simple as that.

 

With this new goal in mind he started off, breaking through the ring of trees around him, breaking through the barriers to the world of fairies and monsters,  _ taunting taunting taunting, _ keeping an eye out for a familiar head of hair bobbing and looping, hollering and whooping through the trees. 

 

It was darker here, than in the clearing, more sinister, the trees gnarled and and knotted. Even the air seemed oppressive, thick and tar like. Euiwoong could hardly make out any of his surroundings, everything was muted and rotten, except for the sticks that caught his clothing and scratched his skin as he and Sprout headed deeper into the forest. Euiwoong was not welcome here, that much at least was obvious. 

 

“Hyungseob!” His call was swallowed up by the oppressive darkness that surrounded him. “Hyungseo-!” Euiwoong’s foot caught on something, what it was he couldn’t see, but he fell, landing in a pile of rotten leaves beneath his feet. He’d lost his hold on Sprout’s lead, and couldn’t feel the pig near him anymore. Euiwoong tried to scramble up, to see where his pig had gone, but it was no use. Thick roots curled around his ankles, and up his legs until his whole body was trapped. 

 

Euiwoong sucked in a few ragged breaths, this was  _ not _ how he expected to die today. The roots tugged at his feet and Euiwoong was dragged farther into the depths of this _ god forsaken _ forest. Sharp rocks cut his face as he tried his best not to inhale a lungs worth of plant material. He cursed every good deed he had ever done, since apparently trying to be a good person got you a crazy werewolf friend and death by leaf inhalation. 

 

The dragging stopped eventually, and Euiwoong imagined that if he had ever thought he could get out of this forest when he began, he surely wasn’t going to now. The roots still had a death grip on his legs, and he couldn’t see well enough to drag himself anywhere. He thought he could just barely make out the outline of a tree in the distance, but it was too dark to be sure, and even then it was a forest, having trees was kind of it's job. 

 

“Damn stupid Hyungseob, damn stupid trees, damn stupid forest.” The roots squeezed his legs tighter, “Okay, sorry forest, you’re the the best part of this situation, I really appreciate you dragging me into the middle of nowhere, thanks.” The grip loosened.  _ Wait, what? Can it understand me? _ , “Um, forest?” The leaves under his fingers seemed to spring to attention, “That’s what I thought.” This was weird, this was so so so weird.  _ Wait, I think I have an idea. _

 

“Hey, forest? Has anyone ever told you that you’re the only magical forest I’ve ever met? Really impressive if I do say so myself.” The roots loosened up more.  _ So it’s a forest with an ego. Okay, that’s totally normal.  _ Euiwoong didn’t have the time to think about the fact that talking to a forest was probably the stupidest thing he had ever done, it wasn’t stupid if it worked. “Yeah, and let me tell you, those flowers that I saw earlier? Absolutely the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen. Yeah, it’s true!” 

 

The forest was positively swooning, even though it should be impossible for forests to swoon, just as impossible it should have been for there to be sentient forests, but apparently there was no God. Just a little bit more loosening up and Euiwoong could probably wiggle out of his trappings. “Oh and those leaves? The greenest I’ve ever seen, and let me tell you, I’ve seen a lot of trees in my life.” The roots loosened just enough and he started to wiggle out. 

 

Bad idea, the forest seemed to realize it had been had, and not only tightened its roots around him again, but lifted him up by his legs, dangling him above the ground. 

 

“Hey! What’s this all about!? I thought we were over this!” Damn  _ stupid _ forests, who in their right mind would give a forest sentience? A fool, that’s who. If Euiwoong ever met the person who thought this was a good idea he was gonna give them a piece of his mind, or his fist, but that’s neither here nor there.

 

The forest didn’t seem to care about the boy thrashing around in it’s grip, and as the blood rushed to Euiwoong’s head he swore that never ever in his life was he going to go into a forest again. “Come on! Forest! Listen to me!” Still nothing, whoever made this forest also seemed to give it the personality of a petulant child.

 

“What’s even your problem?! I have done  _ nothing  _ to you!” The only answer Euiwoong got was he was lifted a few more feet off the ground. “Listen, I’m looking for my friend, have you seen him? Is that what this is all about?” The forest seemed to sigh, far away trees sagged, and a cold gust of wind rustled the leaves under him.

 

“Is that what this is all about? Do you not like my friend?” Another sigh, and Euiwoong was lowered closer to the ground, “Why? What’s he done to you?” The forest paused, thinking. Suddenly the roots that still bound his legs contorted, and he was laid softly down as it seemed like the whole forest was shaking and twisting. The wind kicked up and blew leaves into his face, nearly suffocating him while he tried to readjust after hanging upside down for so long. 

 

The wind died down, and the sound of wood twisting around wood stopped too, it was all deadly quiet as Euiwoong tried to strain his eyes to see what was around him. He thought he heard footsteps in front of him, “Hyungseob?” The footsteps stopped, it was too dark for him to make out anything but a vague outline of someone in front of him. “Seob?”

 

“Alright, first of all I am  _ not _ Hyungseob! Secondly, who do you two even think you are?! You think you can just barge into any old forest and it’ll be totally okay because ‘Oh, we just own the world!’ Well let me tell you something, that is  _ not  _ how this whole thing works.” Alright, so the person in front of him wasn’t Hyungseob, but then who were they and why were they talking so fast? 

 

“Um, sorry not Hyungseob, we just didn’t realize tha-” 

 

He was cut off by the angry voice again, “Well of  _ course _ you didn’t realize, no one does, do they? But then does that make it okay for you to trespass wherever you please? No, it doesn’t.”

 

“Listen, I’m sorry-” 

 

Again Euiwoong was cut off, “Well sorry doesn’t cut it! What does sorry do? Nothing! You better have some good explanation as to why you think you’re entitled to tramp through any forest you like!” 

 

“As a matter of fact, I do! You see-”

 

“Oh! So just because you think you have a good reason you think that gives you the right to-”

 

“Would you just shut up and let me finish?!” Silence, “ _ Thank you _ , so my friend Hyungseob and I, we need to help save magic or something, because apparently it’s dying and that means the werewolves are dying, and I know this sounds stupid, and it is, but he really believes it and someone has to watch him or else he’ll probably die. Because he’s stupid.” 

 

“Oh. Oh? Oh! Well if that was the case, why didn’t you say so earlier!” The voice was much happier now than it had been only a few seconds earlier. In fact Euiwoong thought he could make out a figure running towards him. At a very fast pace. A very  _ very  _ fast pace. In fact Euiwoong thought that the figure wouldn’t be able to stop in time at the pace it was going.  _ Oh  _ no,  _ it’s gonna run into me _ . Euiwoong rolled out of the way just in time for the something, or  _ somebody _ to crash into the pile of leaves he had been in just a few seconds ago.

 

“ _ Jesus! _ ” _ ,  _ The form- boy?- on the ground began to pick himself up, “Are you okay?”

 

Suddenly he was met with an arm full of boy as the strange kid flung himself at Euiwoong, because apparently strange forest boys don’t know the concept of personal space, “You’re Euiwoong, right?! How could I not have realized it earlier?! And to think I put you through all that! Please forgive me!” The first thing he noticed was that the boy had dusty purple hair. How the hell someone got purple hair Euiwoong didn’t want to know. People defying the rules of the universe was obviously going to be a common occurrence if he was traveling with Hyungseob.

 

“Uh yeah, I’m Euiwoong, and um, could you please let go of me? You’re squeezing a little tight.” Not to mention that the kid’s weird hair was currently suffocating Euiwoong in an attempt to be as close to him as physically possible. 

 

The boy jumped away, smiling wide at him. Euiwoong wasn’t the most trusting person in the first place, but to have a boy pop out of a weird forest, with weird hair, nearly hug him to death, only to smile afterwards sent off every alarm bell in his body. Euiwoong tried to scoot back farther from the boy, but was met with the unyielding bark of a tree behind him, and the boy only scooted closer. 

 

“I’m Daehwi, at your service!” Okay, so at least the boy had a name, that was good.

 

“Uh, nice to meet you, Daehwi. So um, could you tell me what’s going on here?” Euiwoong wasn’t very well versed in the world, but he knew that whatever was going on here wasn’t normal. At  _ all. _

 

“Ah! We’ll you see, this is my forest!”

 

“ _ Your _ forest? Aren’t you a bit young to be owning property?” Not that Euiwoong could really say anything, with his farm and all, but still it was normal for people to own farmland, Euiwoong had never heard of someone owning a whole  _ forest. _

 

“Owning  _ property _ ? Euiwoong, this isn’t a forest to be  _ owned _ , I thought you would know that by now!” 

 

“How did you know my name was Euiwoong anyway? I never told you! Were you following us?” 

 

“No, silly! I never have to follow anyone anywhere! As long as they’re in my forest I can hear them loud and clear!” Okay, now Euiwoong was getting really weirded out, if he could see more than a few feet in any direction he would run, but who knew what monsters inhabited this forest, just outside his field of view. I mean, it sounded like Daehwi came from the forest, so that alone was reason enough for Euiwoong not to trust it. 

 

Daehwi stared up at him for a moment, seeming to think, “You really don’t get it do you? Euiwoong, I  _ am _ this forest.” 

 

_ Okay _ , maybe Euiwoong really did hit his head and die after falling down earlier, because he could accept a lot of things in life. Magical mountains? Well the proof was in the pasture as they say. Werewolves being alive? Stretching it, but not completely out of the realm of possibility, especially after he saw Hyungseob with his own eyes. Even magical forests he could get behind, but magical forests being a really weird clingy boy with purple hair? That was just too much, everything was too much. 

 

Not for the first time that day Euiwoong cursed the moment that he saw Hyungseob, and decided to save him. Obviously if any God ever existed then they were long dead now and everyone was living in hell, because there was no other explanation for Euiwoong’s life up to this point.

 

“Uh, Euiwoong? Still with me buddy?” Daehwi waved his godless hand in front of Euiwoong godless face as they sat in a godless forest in a pile of godless leaves. 

 

“Uh yeah, um… Yeah. So anyways, you’re a forest and I’m dead, alright. Um, on that note, have you seen my friend Hyungseob?”  Daehwi sprang off Euiwoong, as though he was just hit by a bolt of lightning. 

 

“Hyungseob! I can’t believe I forgot about him! Come on Euiwoong, get  _ up! _ We gotta go find Hyungseob!” Daehwi grabbed Euiwoong’s hand, yanking him out of the leaves and pulling him into a semi standing position. “We gotta go!”

 

“Wait,  _ find _ him?! I thought you were the forest, I thought you knew everything about everything? What’s this about having to  _ find _ Hyungseob?!” Euiwoong had just begun to trust this guy, and now he springs on him that he doesn’t know where Hyungseob was? Maybe Daehwi being some deranged serial killer wasn’t such a far out thought. 

 

“Well, technically yeah, but there’s some stuff going on right now that I don’t have complete control over. Some parts of the forest are mutating, they don’t listen to me anymore, and I have no control over what they do. I won’t go into detail about what they  _ have _ been doing, but I think it’s best that we find Hyungseob, and  _ soon _ .” Well, there went all of Euiwoong’s confidence that Hyungseob and Sprout weren’t dead. Daehwi really knew how to inspire faith in a guy.

 

“So you have no idea whatsoever about where my friends are?”

 

“ _ Well _ … Not exactly, but I do know where they might be and right now that’s better than nothing.”

 

“And where is that?” 

 

“You’re not gonna like this Euiwoong.” Well no, Euiwoong knew he wouldn’t like it, but he didn’t like anything about this whole situation, so what’s a little more garbage thrown into the mix.

 

“ _ Daehwi. _ ”

 

Daehwi sighed, “I think they might be at the Hangman’s Tree.” Euiwoong knew right then and there that they truly were in hell. “But it’s not that bad! Trust me! As long as we get there quickly they won’t be hanged!”

 

“Oh yeah! That’s fine! As long as we get there quickly my best friends won’t be killed! Yeah! Great!” The world around Euiwoong began to spin, and even Daehwi’s grip on his arm wasn’t enough to keep him up. The edges of his vision blurred, and Euiwoong couldn’t help but think that he was finally dying, and had just been hallucinating this whole time.  _ Yeah, that doesn’t sound so bad. None of this is even happening anyway… _ Everything went black.

 

When Euiwoong woke up he certainly wasn’t where he was when he had blacked out.  _ Is this what the afterlife is like? _ He thought he was being carried over someone’s shoulder, though he couldn’t be sure. The person who was carrying him shifted their grip and it was only then that Euiwoong remembered,  _ Forest… Hyungseob… Sprout… Daehwi…  _ Wait a second.

 

“Daehwi what the _ hell  _ do you think you’re doing.” The person-  _ Daehwi _ \- stopped.

 

“Oh. Hey Euiwoong, I hoped you would sleep for a little longer.” Daehwi wasn’t bubbly like he had been before, he sounded distant, hollow.

 

“You okay buddy?” It was a little awkward, talking to his new friend’s butt, but there were worse things in life. Like pretty much everything else that’s happened today. Really today put his whole life into perspective, he’d probably never complain again as long as no day was as bad as this one. 

 

Daehwi adjusted his hold on Euiwoong, startling him out of his thoughts, before starting on again. “Daehwi? What's going on?”

 

“We’re almost there, Euiwoong. Don't worry.” It was then that Euiwoong realized that they were in a very different area now. The air was damp and carried the smell of death and decay. They were in a marsh, he realized, and everywhere he looked rotten trees stuck up out of the muck at an angle, like blackened hands reaching out of the earth.

 

What captured his attention most though was that everything around him was glowing. It seemed like everything was coated in a film of purple mold that shined as brightly as candles. “Daehwi, what  _ is _ this place?” He got no response, just Daehwi walking through the muck, every step parting the carpet of purple. “Daehwi,  _ please  _ answer me. What’s happening? Where  _ are _ we?”

 

“Just a little bit farther, just hold on a little longer.” Well like  _ hell _ was Euiwoong just going to let himself be carted around by a mysterious forest boy, who may or may not be carrying him directly to his death, so Euiwoong did the only thing he could think of, he started flailing around. He kicked his legs as high as he could, and tried to aim for Daehwi’s stomach, he pulled and scratched at Daehwi’s shirt and tried to make it as difficult to hold his as possible.

 

“Jesus  _ Christ, _ Euiwoong,  _ stop _ !”

 

It was no use though, Daehwi’s grip on Euiwoong loosened and he slipped out of his grip. Euiwoong dropped into the murky water with a splash and the world underneath him seemed to open up, swallowing him into the mud. Water filled his mouth, and nose, rushing into any crevice it could find, nearly choking him. He closed his eyes, but it was too late, vibrant colors bloomed in his vision, perverse caricatures of humans danced and dipped and swam in and out of view. From somewhere far off he heard drums. 

 

As suddenly as he fell in, hands wrapped around his torso, each touch an electric shock, and pulled him out. “ _ Damn, _ Euiwoong! I told you to stay  _ still! _ ” 

 

Euiwoong just gaped at him, wet hair sticking flat to his forehead as the mud streaked down his face. Daehwi’s hair wasn’t dusty purple anymore, it shone brightly, each strand like a purple flame. The swamp too no longer just glowed, it  _ burned _ , every service alight with iridescent color. Euiwoong looked down, he glowed too, dimmer than his surroundings but quickly becoming more intense. 

 

“ _ Daehwi _ ,” he breathed out “What just  _ happened _ ?”

 

Daehwi’s face fell, “I’ll tell you later, but right now it’s about Hyungseob, okay? Everything’s gonna seem weird, but right now you just have to focus on Hyungseob.” Euiwoong nodded, barely understanding anything the other was saying, instead focusing on the colors flowing from his mouth every time Daehwi said something. Red, blue, orange, pink, mixing and swirling, nearly obscuring his view. 

 

Daehwi understood that his words were falling upon deaf ears, so instead took Euiwoong’s hand, pulling him behind him. Euiwoong’s legs were weak, and didn’t want to work right so their progress was slow but steady, and eventually Daehwi stopped. Euiwoong was too busy gawking at their surroundings to notice until Daehwi pulled him close.

 

“Well, you wanted to know where we were going, here we are.” Daehwi gestured in front of him, and it was only then that Euiwoong was able to take his eyes off the ground.

 

Euiwoong fell to his knees, Daehwi’s strong grip on his arm the only thing keeping the mud from sucking him up again, “Daehwi, what the  _ fuck. _ ” In front of them, only about 30 feet away, had to be the biggest tree Euiwoong had ever seen, it’s base was easily as thick as any house in his village, its roots stuck out of the earth like giant man eating snakes, and its branches seemed to stretch for miles up and around them. Strange vines hung from the branches, and some looked to be bearing fruit. Human shaped fruit. 

 

“Daehwi… That’s…” 

 

“Yep, those are people.”

 

“But  _ why?  _ Why the  _ hell  _ would something do this?” There had to be more than a thousand bodies hanging, all shapes and sizes, all ages. It wasn’t even all humans either, there was livestock too. Horses and sheep, all strung up, limp. He strained his eyes for Sprout but couldn’t find him, he wasn’t sure if that was a good or bad thing. 

 

“Long ago there was a village on this very spot, but a wizard named Orsco cursed the village. That purple mold that you see? That’s part of the curse. It infects everything it touches, taints it. This was once a holy forest, a protected area against darkness, but now its heart has turned black as night.” Daehwi paused, seemingly collecting his thoughts, “There was a boy, Samuel, he fought back against Orsco and the curse, but he failed. He was the tree’s first victim, and in short time the rest of the village hanged, suspended in time, their souls hanging in limbo as their corpses hung from the tree.”

 

“So… What do we do, Daehwi?” Euiwoong stood up, gazing as far as he could into the tree.

 

“I can’t do anything, the magic is too strong for me, and besides, I’ve already been infected. That’s where you come in.” Daehwi pulled back a patch of reeds to reveal a small sword, shining brightly against the gloom. “That was Samuel’s sword, from when he fought Orsco. Only those that haven’t been affected by the curse can touch it. I obviously can’t, but you might be able to.” 

Euiwoong gulped, if it was true that whatever the mold touched it tainted, then he may have doomed them all by falling into the water. Hyungseob, Sprout, Daehwi, even the whole village that loomed far above them, but he had to try. 

 

He stepped toward it, stumbling slightly as the mud sucked at his feet. He looked at Daehwi, trying to gauge his emotions, but the other’s face was blank.  _ Well, here goes nothing.  _ He grasped the sword by its hilt and pulled it out of the muck. He was immediately hit by a wall of emotion. Failure, rage, despair,  disgust, it all rammed into him at one, nearly bowling him over. Tears pricked at the edges of his eyes, _ This must be what they’re feeling, hanging up there like that. _ He swallowed, willing the emotions to go down. He looked at the sword, runes covered the hilt, while a long crack ran down the length of the blade to the tip, where it looked like the point had broken off.

 

He breathed deeply, clutching the sword closer, “Okay, what do I need to do?”

 

Daehwi smiled, “Nothing major, just carve up that tree, and try not to die. Oh yeah, you’ll also have to fight Orsco.” 

 

“Daehwi,  _ what?!” _

 

“I never said it was going to be  _ easy _ , did I? I would’ve done it myself if it weren’t for the fact that I physically can’t. Besides, you look like someone who knows their way around the sword.”

 

“Daehwi I have never held a sword in my _life_. I am a _farmer,_ Daehwi. I till fields, milk cows, I don’t _fight_ _wizards.”_

 

“Oh. Well, too bad, the sword’s chosen you, you can’t back out of this now. Besides, I have a feeling that you might do better than you think.” 

 

“What part of can’t fight don’t you get, Daehwi?!”

  
“Call it a forest spirit's intuition. Now get out there and fight some wizards!” He pushed Euiwoong closer to the god forsaken tree. Euiwoong sighed,  _ I am never, ever,  _ ever _ going to be nice to anyone ever again. Look where it’s gotten me, you try to be a good samaritan and you end up fighting a cursed tree.  _ Well, at least if he was going to die, he was going to die with a sword in his hands.  _ Okay Euiwoong, let’s do this.  _ He stepped closer to the tree, disappearing into the maze of roots.


End file.
